Atemu didn't know exactly how long he swam, but it hardly made his situation any better. In fact, whenever he came across a rock with a mirror like finish, he looked at himself and recoiled. It seems as though the more he looked at himself, with his scaly skin, his fins and his fish tail, the more hideous he appeared to himself. Marik's words continued to echo in his head, tormenting him to no end. Could it be true? Could his Lady really find him repulsive if he should show himself? Atemu could not help but cry. He seriously hated himself for being what he is. He finally sank down to a rock to sit, and there he continued to weep. At that moment, a certain eel merman came along and took notice.
"Oh, can it be? It is! My dear friend, Atemu Boy!"
Atemu looked up and saw Pegasus hovering over him. "Pegasus?" Atemu said in disbelief.
"The one and only!" Pegasus said whimsically, "I can't help but snoop around, but for some reason you look rather… how should I say this…glum." Atemu sighed sadly.
"Even if I tell you what's wrong, I doubt you would understand."
"Try me." Pegasus said with a smirk. Again Atemu sighed.
"There's this girl I've met… she has captured my heart at first sight." He said, placing a hand on his heart, "But she doesn't even know I'm alive; she never saw me, nor did she hear my voice. But I love her more than anything."
"Well, why don't you go show yourself and tell her how you feel?" Pegasus suggested.
"I can't." Atemu replied, "My family says that this love would never work out. I want to prove them all wrong, but something holds me back. Marik said some terrible things to me… about how she would reject me once she takes a look at me." And then Atemu let loose the pearly tears from his eyes yet again. "W-when I look at myself and think about it…" he sobbed, "M-maybe I am ugly! How can my Lady love someone as hideous as me?" Atemu's words certainly caught Pegasus by surprise. But he placed a webbed hand on the Prince's shoulder.
"Why Atemu Boy, that's not like you to think that way! You are anything but hideous, that's for sure. Every mermaid in the ocean knows that for a fact. What made you think that this mermaid would reject you solely on looks alone?"
"She's not a mermaid, Pegasus."
"She's not?" Pegasus asked in confusion, "Well what is she?"
"She's a human." Atemu said, "And not just any human, in fact. She is a princess, and Tea is her name." Again, Pegasus gave a look of surprise. But then he slowly chuckled, and it escalated into a mad laughter.
"Now it all makes sense!" Pegasus laughed, "I had to agree in part with your family. This romance would only lead to disaster."
"You too?" Atemu said in dismay. He got up to swim yet again. "I knew you wouldn't understand!"
"Now, now, don't get all wound up." Pegasus said, swimming after him, "You want to prove us all wrong, don't you?"
"Of course I do!" Atemu said.
"Then if you want me to, I can help you get started." Pegasus said smugly. Atemu stopped in his tracks and turned around.
"Help me? How can you possibly help me?" Atemu said, skeptical.
"I'll show you." Pegasus smirked, "I've always figured that I can't keep it hidden from you for long." He then took a long strand of seaweed and held it at its end. "Watch carefully, Atemu Boy. What you're about to see might surprise you." And watch he did. Tiny sparks of electricity surrounded Pegasus' webbed fingers, and it spread onto the seaweed. Before his very eyes, the seaweed began to move. In the blink of an eye, the seaweed transformed into a large hissing water snake. It swam right towards the startled Crown Prince in an attempt to attack him, and he flailed his arms to swat the snake away. Then just as quickly, the snake suddenly turned back into a strand of seaweed. Atemu's eyes widened as it all became clear as to what his friend was trying to show him.
"Well? What do think?" Pegasus said, satisfied at his work.
"Y-You…" Atemu stuttered, "You're a mage?"
"That's right!" said Pegasus with pride, "I'm fully fledged sea mage, just like Mahaado, your Dolphin Folk friend."
"Pegasus," Atemu gasped in shock, "You never told me you were a mage! Why did you hide it from me?" Pegasus' expression became forlorn, further surprising the Prince.
"I knew that you would ask such a question." He said, "Allow me to reveal to you my own tale of love and heartbreak." Atemu couldn't believe what he was hearing. His friend had a lover? What had happened between them? Those questions led him to listen eagerly as Pegasus began his story. "When I was a small merchild, I was apprenticed to a master mage who taught the art of magic in a famous college from another city. I was bright pupil, and as I grew up I quickly mastered the art and rose in rank. It was when I was about your age when I met a fellow sea mage who was assigned to be my partner in a vast magical project. Her name was Cecilia, and she was what I would like to call a golden koi mermaid, she was very beautiful indeed. She even had wits that matched my own, and before I knew it, I was in love with her. We spent time together studying new spells and we helped each other improve what we already learned. And slowly, she returned my love. Eventually we started spending time with each other outside of times of study. On the side, I was an artist, and she often volunteered to be a model for many of my works. I will never forget that special day when we confessed our love for each other, and since then, our love blossomed even more. We married at the age of twenty-five, and lived happily for many years. We would still be together to this day, had tragedy not struck." It was the first time Atemu ever saw Pegasus shed pearly tears in front of him, and the mage continued. "There was a colleague of mine whose name I had forgotten. But I would never forget the terrible thing he did. You see, if magic is treated with disrespect by certain mages that use it, magic itself punishes those mages. This is why such mages are either insane, obsessive, or both. Such was the case for that colleague. To make matters worse, he too had his eyes on Cecilia, and he was jealous of me for winning her heart. He was already past the line of insanity and he tried to use his magic to kill me. Imagine my horror when Cecilia put herself in front of me, and took the killing blow. She sank into my arms and died on the spot. My colleague, realizing what he had done, took his own life soon after. My own heart shattered to pieces, and I was left to mourn the loss of my beloved."
"That's terrible!" Atemu said, feeling sorry for the mage.
"I made a promise to myself never to let the disrespect of magic bring about a tragedy similar to mine." Pegasus said, "So when I found that I was becoming insane myself, I had to act." It was then that he lifted away the head fin that covered his left eye, and Atemu now saw an artificial eye made of gold, in the shape of the eye that decorated the Prince's crown. "I blinded myself in one eye to save what was left of my sanity." Pegasus explained, "Then I banished myself from the wizard's college, traveling as far away from it as possible. After a long journey, I finally reached the wilderness near your kingdom. There, I set up a new home and opened a curiosity shop of my own, and I've been selling my magic ever since." Pegasus smiled once again. "Most of the other merfolk I meet simply ignore me unless they want to consult me for their magic. You, on the other hand, befriended me when you were but a small merboy. Your presence has put my loneliness at ease, and your little predicament just now has given me an opportunity to repay your kindness. I can use my magic to help you win the heart of that human girl—for a price, of course."
"Pegasus, I appreciate your offer," Atemu said, "But I don't want a love potion. Nor do I need one."
"I realize that." said Pegasus, "After all, a love won by force in not love at all. That's why I want to offer you a magic that's even better than a love potion."
"What kind of magic?" Atemu asked, interested.
"I'll show you." Pegasus replied, "Just follow me to my humble abode. I'll tell you all about it once we get there." Atemu was eager to find out what kind of magic his friend was offering, not to mention curious.
"All right then! Mahaado may also be a mage, but I doubt he would help me in this situation." Atemu said in confidence. "Lead the way, Pegasus!"
"Gladly!" the mage replied, "It's about time I show you where I live." And Pegasus swam off, Atemu following him from behind.
Meanwhile, back in the palace, the siblings were next door to Atemu's room, recovering from what had happened.
"Marik, I can't believe you did this!" Ishizu scolded, "You've really hurt your brother's feelings this time!" Marik just sighed in annoyance.
"Hey, it's not my fault he's all emotional about a human girl!" he said.
"Would you two stop this fighting?" Kisara shouted, "We don't want to make things more stressful than they already are. Besides, I think he's calm now. He needs all the comfort he can get." She then opened the slab door that led to the hallway where her brother's room is. She slowly approached the shut door, and knocked.
"Atemu?" she said softly, "Are you ready to talk? I want to apologize on behalf of Marik. Please answer me." There was no response from the other side. Figuring that he was still crying, Kisara gently shoved the slab door aside. Imagine her horror when she saw that the room was empty! "Marik! Ishizu! Atemu's gone!"
"Gone?" Marik said in disbelief. "You're kidding!" Marik and Ishizu entered and were just as shocked to find an empty room ahead of them.
"Atemu! Where did he go!" Ishizu shouted.
"Hmm. He must have gone out for a swim." Marik said.
"But for how long?" Kisara said, "We have to find him!"
"Kisara, it's late." Ishizu reasoned, "We'll have to wait until morning."
"No! I won't wait!" Kisara said, "If you can't go out to find him, then I will!"
"Kisara!"
"He has done so much to help me! Now it's my turn to help him!" And off Kisara went, before her other two siblings could protest.
It had been a few minutes spent in swimming, and Atemu was getting impatient.
"Are we there yet?" he complained.
"Hush now Atemu Boy." Pegasus replied, "We're getting very close." The sea mage then stopped in front of the Prince. "Ah, here we are! My humble home!" Atemu looked ahead of him and saw a strange house carved out of a cave. Crystal lanterns hung from the entrance, each one a different color. Although it was beautiful, he couldn't help but feel intimidated.
"I hope you don't mind the decorations." Pegasus said, "It gives a sort of mystic aura around here. Now come inside and we'll do some business."
"Uhh, okay." Atemu said, and he swam behind the mage. As he entered, he noticed a whole cluster of polyps planted on the floor below him.
"Hello my little pets! Daddy's home!" Pegasus said to them. In response, they rippled in a way that almost nauseated the Crown Prince.
"Ugh, what are those things?" Atemu said in disgust.
"Oh these? They're the pride of my shop." Pegasus replied. Suddenly, the polyps stretched out toward Atemu, and one coiled around his wrist. With a shout, Atemu pulled hard to free himself while fighting off other polyps. Pegasus took out a stick and whapped the polyp that held its captive. Immediately, it let go, and the other polyps shrank in response.
"Now behave!" the mage said, "This young merman is a customer and a guest." He then turned to the Prince, saying, "Sorry about that. They're trained to catch any thieves who would dare to steal my spells and belongings, which many strangers happen to be. That's why I had to remind them which stranger is a guest and which is not." Atemu gave no reply, and hurried on inside. Pegasus wasn't the proud owner of a curiosity shop for nothing. Everywhere he looked there were many unusual items on display, like strange crystals, charms, amulets, flasks containing colored liquid, and even some preserved organ of certain animals stored in glass bottles. There was even a natural crater that served as some kind of natural cauldron.
"Let me do the honors of welcoming you to my shop!" Pegasus said cheerfully. "Let's get down to business, shall we?" Before Atemu could reply, Pegasus swam towards a floating spellbook with pages made of tightly woven seaweed paper. In merry humming, the sea mage flipped the pages in search of a certain spell. "Now where could it be?" he muttered. Then he flipped one last page before pointing at the book in triumph. "Aha! Here it is! It's been a while since I last put this to use."
"What is it?" Atemu asked. Pegasus looked up with a sly grin.
"This, Atemu Boy, is the one thing that can make all your sweetest dreams come true. Believe it or not, I actually know of a secret wish of yours! Even before you met your lovely Tea Girl, you wanted to give up the throne in order to dwell in the Realm Above, is that correct?"
"Yes, it is." Atemu said, surprised at what his friend knew. He never even told him that wish.
"I can see it in your eyes. You wish to live among humans, interact with them, and make their world a better place to live in, free from fear and wickedness. Tea Girl is but another reason you want to live up there, because you love her from the bottom of your heart." Pegasus inched closer, as if enjoying the dramatic flair of his own words. "That's why I assure you that you'll absolutely love this spell! If you want to live among humans, what better way to do that than to become one!" Atemu's eyes widened in amazement, and Pegasus went on to ask, "So what do you think, Atemu Boy? How would you like to become a human?"
